Surgical significance of the bile duct of Luschka

Abstract

In 20 post-mortem dissections, the subvesical bile duct of Luschka was noted in six specimens. Microscopic examination of ten other post-mortem gallbladders revealed small bile ducts on the gallbladder surface in five. Four cases of injury to the duct of Luschka during cholecystectomy are described and illustrated with cholangiographic and histological evidence. Post-cholecystectomy bile leaks from the drain tube, which closed spontaneously without sequelae, were noted in 9 per cent of 204 randomly selected cases and were regarded, at least in some, as being caused by a divided duct of Luschka. The practical significance of this duct during cholecystectomy is to keep close to the gallbladder wall during removal of the gallbladder, and to ligate a divided bile duct of Luschka if recognized at surgery.

Bile leaks from the duct of Luschka (subvesical duct): a review

“…Goor and Ebert [13] performed an end-to-end anastomosis of an injured subvesical duct. McQuillan et al [14] reported four cases in which an injured subvesical duct was noted during open cholecystectomy. In one case, an intraoperative cholangiogram confirmed the presence of a subvesical duct.…”

Cholangiographic demonstration of the cholecystohepatic duct of Luschka

“…Luschka described a slender bile duct passing from the gallbladder fossa and joining the right hepatic or common hepatic duct (as cited in [4]). We are reserving the term cholecystohepatic duct of Luschka exclusively to define a bile duct that connects a portion of the right lobe of the liver, in the vicinity of the gallbladder fossa (also called a subvesical duct), with either the cystic duct or the gallbladder proper.…”

Bile leakage after cholecystectomy in a patient with cholecystohepatic duct : a case report

“…It is important to distinguish CHD from a communicating accessory bile duct or bile duct of Luschka (subvesical or subserosal duct). The former travels between the main ducts without draining a specific area of the liver 11) , whereas the latter travels on the surface of either the gallbladder or liver in contact with the wall of the gallbladder, passes into the liver, with most of it flowing into the right hepatic duct 12) . In many cases, the CHD is found during treatment of gallbladder or common bile duct stones.…”